The Message
by Seth Bramwell
Summary: Part Three has been added and the story is now complete! With Butch in prison and facing the death penalty, will he EVER be able to tell Cassidy the truth about how he feels? PLEASE R/R! Thanks!
1. Broken Spirit

The Message  
  
By Allan North  
  
Butch sat in his solitary confinement cell, alone, hurt, and angry. For what   
seemed like the millionth time that day, he looked around his gloomy cell with a   
growing sense of despair. Soon, his time would be up for good, and he knew it. God,   
he needed a cigarette bad.  
  
It had all seemed so simple at first… just a simple little payback, that's all. After   
all, they had almost managed to get away that time, the last time he and Cassidy had   
been caught… Oh, how clearly Butch could see that day in his mind…  
  
Part One: Broken Spirit  
  
"Step on it, Butch!" Cassidy screamed, grabbing her partner and shaking him,   
Without a word, Butch slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, and the van took off at   
high speed. Cassidy was violently tossed back by the sudden burst of speed, and she   
landed flat on her back, just barely missing hitting the cages full of stolen Pokemon that   
were stacked in the back of the van.   
  
Behind them, a motorcycle tore down the street, its siren blaring as the Jenny   
driving it pushed the bike to its limits. "Stop!" Jenny yelled for the fifth time.   
  
Butch look in his rearview mirror at Jenny with a look of utter contempt. "Make   
us!" he yelled back in his trademark raspy voice.  
  
The Jenny gritted her teeth and reached for the microphone on her bike. One   
quick flip of the switch, and the small loudspeaker attached to the front of her bike was   
turned on. "Now hear this, Team Rocket! You have been warned to stop. If you fail to   
do so, I will have no choice but to open fire!" Jenny replaced the microphone and   
flipped off the loudspeaker, praying she wouldn't have to make good on her threat. In   
the van, Butch looked at Jenny in the mirror again, and knew she was quickly gaining   
on him. Cassidy had managed to stand back up, and was now slouched over her partner,   
her hands gripping his shoulders tightly as she silently screamed for speed. As Butch   
looked at jenny and felt Cassidy's hands on him, his mind flashed back to when he was   
just a beginning White Rocket. The Voice of the Black Rocket who had trained him and   
Cassidy came back to him now, instructing him still…"Never give a Jenny the   
satisfaction of catching you. Don't let them intimidate you. After all, take the uniform   
away, and what do you have? Nothing more than a cloned moron who just happens to   
look like every one of her other inbred relatives." How right Agent Masterson had been.   
Butch narrowed his eyes and shifted the van into overdrive. Once again, the van gained   
speed suddenly, and Cassidy held on tightly to avoid being thrown back into the cages of   
Pokemon.  
  
Jenny watched the van speed up and ducked down close to the body of her bike.   
Shifting the vehicle into the extra gear the Police bikes had been outfitted with for chases,   
she sped up until she was as close as she could get to the van. The van was well within   
range when she braked suddenly and turned the bike sideways in the road, holding on   
for dear life as she did so. Once the bike was stopped, Jenny quickly drew her gun and   
fired at the van, praying it wouldn't pull out of range. Butch swerved and as best he   
could, causing Cassidy to lose her balance and pitch wildly around the back of the van.   
She fell into the cages once again. Despite Butch's best efforts, Jenny's years of   
training, practice, and experience won out as one of her bullets found its target.   
Suddenly, Butch felt the van skidding out of control as the rear left tire deflated in   
seconds. Fighting desperately to keep the van under control, Butch hit both pedals at the   
same time as he jerked the steering wheel around violently. The van skidded down the   
road, leaving black tire marks in its wake, finally turning onto two wheels and tipping   
over onto its side. Butch could hear the footsteps running toward the van, and he knew   
they were caught. He could feel wetness on his forehead. He knew what it was before he   
even reached up to confirm it. Blood. He had gashed his head on the steering wheel   
when the van had turned over. Butch emitted a low, frustrated growl, and then was hit   
by a sudden thought. "Cassidy?" he called, remembering that his partner hadn't been   
sitting in her seat buckled in, as he had been. From the back of the van came a low moan   
in reply. Butch's eyes shot wide open. He quickly undid his seatbelt and climbed to the   
back of the van, hardly caring about the cops surrounding the van as the Police wagon   
approached the scene.   
  
In the back of the van, Cassidy lay under three cages that had toppled loose and   
landed on top of her. Butch ran to her and grabbed the first cage, holding a stolen   
Charmander, and threw it roughly to the front of the van. Next came the other two   
cages, holding a Tangela and a Nidorino. The stolen Pokemon were of no consequence   
now. All that mattered was Cassidy. Butch looked at her sadly, his lips trembling as he   
fought back tears. Cassidy was also bleeding from a gash in her head, and her uniform   
dress was torn where the corners of cages had hit her. Her left arm dangled at an odd   
angle, and was obviously broken. Her right arm was weakly reaching for her partner as   
she said weakly, "Butch… help me… please…"  
  
Butch looked at her with hurt eyes. He had always shared a closeness with his   
partner, a special bond he had never felt with anyone else, and now… seeing her like   
this made his stomach turn and his heart ache.  
  
The back doors of the van broke open and three Jennies climbed in. Butch was   
too numb to react in any way. One of the Jennies, in fact, the one who had shot out the   
tires on the van, handcuffed him and led him to the waiting police van while the other   
two tended to Cassidy, administering first aid and calling an ambulance so she could be   
made stable for transport.   
  
Through the course of the following week, Butch and Cassidy were taken to jail   
once again and placed in separate cells. Cassidy's accident had broken more than her   
arm…. Worse, it had broken part of her spirit. Butch knew that hardly anyone, least of   
all Cassidy's rival Jessie, would believe it, but underneath that cold efficient front   
lurked a very sensitive and scared little girl. However, as he had learned soon after   
becoming her partner, Cassidy often kept that little girl buried as deeply as possible.   
Now, it seemed, the little girl had been forced to the surface.  
  
Butch spent the better part of the week sitting by the iron bars of his cell door,   
looking across the hall at Cassidy, who simply sat in her cell staring ahead with dead   
eyes.... Dead eyes devoid of spirit which occasionally fell to the stark white cast that had   
been placed on her arm at the hospital after their capture. Butch longed desperately to   
touch it, as if he could take all of Cassidy's pain away simply by feeling the hard plaster   
that was holding his partner down, keeping her from soaring like the majestic creature   
that he had come to know.  
  
It pained him, tortured him, to see her like this, and he began to wonder if her   
spirit would ever recover itself. He could only pray that it would….   
  
As he had done in the past, Giovanni himself came down to bail them out, but   
this time, it was different. Bail was only posted with the strict warning that the favor   
would not be repeated. Giovanni's anger was all too clear as they rode back to team   
Rocket Headquarters in the back of Giovanni's black limo.  
  
"This is the third time! Are you two becoming as incompetent as those two fools   
Jessie and James?" he ranted at them from his seat, yelling across the limo as he stroked   
his Persian in his lap.  
  
Butch looked at the Boss nervously, knowing he had never seen him quite so   
angry with them before. He and Cassidy had always laughed when they had watched   
Jessie and James be the recipients of Giovanni's red-hot temper, but now Butch had   
nothing but empathy for their rivals. His eyes went to Cassidy for her reaction, and he   
realized that her face only held the look he had seen the entire time in prison…a look of   
sadness, of broken spirit.  
  
After the couple had returned to Headquarters, Butch walked Cassidy to her   
quarters on the Black Rocket level. Cassidy produced a key on a chain from around her   
neck without a word and walked into the room. Once inside, Butch closed the door and   
the dam burst as every bit of pent-up emotion that Cassidy had been holding back finally   
came flooding out like never before. Tears began to stream down her face as she   
collapsed on her bed and buried her face in the belly of an overstuffed teddy bear, a   
remnant of her distant childhood. She had had the bear for as long as she could   
remember, and it had been a comfort to her more times than she could count. Normally,   
she would never have even considered showing Butch what it meant to her, preferring to   
let him think it was just a souvenir, but she didn't care anymore.   
  
Cassidy sobbed into the bear as she blurted out her frustration, giving voice to all   
she had felt in the past few days. "Oh, Butch, maybe he's right… maybe we are just   
becoming incompetent… God, I'm doomed to be just as stupid as Jessie…."  
  
Butch looked at Cassidy from behind her, and felt tears forming in the corners of   
eyes…. Tears? The last time he had cried was when he was just a kid of 6. For the   
longest time, Butch had seen one and only one way of dealing with the world, and that   
was to be strong and silent like a stone, and never commit the ultimate sin of betraying   
his emotions to anyone. Butch had spent so long training himself to be hard and to not   
show emotions… to not show "weakness" as his first Team Rocket Mentor had called it,   
that he had truly believed he was incapable of crying anymore. Now his partner was   
proving him wrong.  
  
Hardly aware that he was doing it, Butch began to gently rub Cassidy's back,   
comforting her and wishing that he could mend what had been broken. "No, Cassidy…   
No we're not… We've just been a bit… unlucky lately." He said quietly.  
  
Cassidy sat up and turned to face her partner, tears still streaming down her   
cheeks. "Unlucky?" she said loudly. "The Breeding Center was unlucky. That Drowzee   
was unlucky. Jessie and James finding us was unlucky. This was just us being beaten by   
someone better than us… a lousy cop!" Cassidy wrapped her good arm around Butch   
and cried into his shoulder. "And not just any cop, oh, no… it was one of those   
damned inbred Jennies!" She sobbed violently into Butch's shoulder as Butch's face   
tightened into a tight and nasty scowl. Officer Jenny had done this to her… hurt her,   
shamed her, broken her… even made her believe she was incompetent.  
  
Butch knew she wasn't incompetent. She couldn't be. She was THE   
quintessential Team Rocket agent, the best Black Rocket there was. Efficient, lethal,   
cunning, exacting, and damn good at her job. Hell, if anything, HE was incompetent.   
He could barely think of what to say from one moment to the next, let alone think up   
decent plans. Cassidy did almost all the planning as far as their team was concerned,   
even if Giovanni didn't know it.  
  
That was one of the many things that had endeared Cassidy to Butch, even if he   
had trained himself to never show more than a simple camaraderie. She was strong,   
intelligent, resourceful, beautiful… and at the same time sentimental and emotional.  
  
Now Cassidy was just as broken as her arm, as scarred emotionally as she could   
be, and it was all because of one person… Well, one person who looked like a million   
others, but Butch knew that he would always know that particular Jenny by sight, and   
that he would hate her forever more.   
  
As Cassidy sobbed into Butch's shoulder, Butch continued to rub her back and   
talk soothingly to her as an idea began to take root in his mind…. An idea for a plan, for   
a payback to a certain Celadon City cop, that brainless clone, that… Officer Jenny.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
  



	2. Payback

Part Two: Payback  
  
The next two weeks remained pretty uneventful for Butch and Cassidy. Due to   
Cassidy's broken arm (and Giovanni's own bad mood), the two had been temporarily   
assigned to modified duty working in the HQ laundry. Butch continued to silently form   
his plan as Cassidy growled about their new duty. She was obviously still depressed, but   
now her she was feeling a little better. However, Butch saw that her former sadness had   
given way to anger, an anger that became crystal clear one day…  
  
Butch and Cassidy were in the back room of the laundry, folding white and black   
uniforms when they suddenly heard the ringing of the bell on the counter, telling them   
another rocket was there to pick up or drop off their laundry. Butch and Cassidy had   
already done this kind of thing at least twenty times today, and it was barely noon. With   
a sigh, Butch looked at Cassidy and said, "Your turn."  
  
Cassidy nodded and walked to the front to find an all-too-familiar Rocket   
standing at the counter with a basket stuffed full of dirty and singed clothes….  
  
Jessie's face lit up with a malicious grin. "Why Cassidy… I'd heard you were on   
modified duty, but I had no idea it would be a duty that would suit you this well."  
  
Cassidy scowled. "Shove it, Jessie."  
  
"Now Cassidy, is that any way to talk?" Jessie smiled. She shoved the basket of   
laundry across the counter at her. "Now, I want those uniforms clean, pressed, and   
looking their whitest- if you haven't used all the bleach on your hair, that is." She   
laughed.  
  
Cassidy glared at her with hate in her eyes. "You'll be lucky if you get them back   
in one piece, you little slut." She growled.  
  
Jessie looked at her with amused eyes. "What, you want the Boss to get reports   
that you can't even handle the laundry now?" she asked.  
  
Cassidy glared at the counter, her fists clenching as she spoke. "They'll be ready   
tomorrow." She mumbled.  
  
Jessie laughed a satisfied laugh and turned to leave as Cassidy grabbed the basket   
and stomped to the back.  
  
"Another load?" Butch asked.  
  
"Yeah. From Jessie, of all people." Cassidy stuffed the clothes into a machine,   
added the detergent and bleach, and started the machine. She then climbed on top of the   
washer and sat down, looking at Butch as he folded one of Mondo's white top shirts.   
Butch had been such a comfort to her over the past two weeks, but she was reaching the   
end of her rope.   
  
"I swear, Butch… this is all because of that Jenny. God, I hate her."  
  
Butch nodded silently, allowing himself a small smile as he thought of how   
wonderful it would be when his plan came fully together, when it would be carried out,   
and when he could dry Cassidy's tears and once again see her spirit intact. Soon, it   
would be done, this duty would be over, and this dark time would be forgotten.   
  
The day dragged on as Butch and Cassidy continued to wash and fold clothes and   
deal with the insults of other rockets… even the ones they outranked… Rockets whose   
toes they had stepped on in the past. When the day finally ended, an exhausted Cassidy   
trudged back to her room with Butch in tow. Once they arrived, she collapsed on her   
bed and fell asleep almost instantly. Butch gently pulled her boots off as Cassidy   
murmured and smiled in her sleep. Oh, she was so special and amazing… Butch   
reached to the foot of the bed and pulled the folded blanket up over his sleeping partner.   
  
Cassidy rolled onto her side and smiled in her sleep again. Butch looked around   
the room for a second, half wondering if they were really alone, and suddenly leaned   
down and kissed Cassidy on the cheek. She stirred slightly, and an embarrassed Butch   
rushed out of the room before she could come to.   
  
In the room, Cassidy's eyes slowly opened, and the dreamy smile faded from   
her face. It was just as she had feared… she had dreamed that kiss. Disappointed,   
Cassidy fell back on her pillow. Normally, she never gave romance- particularly with   
Butch- a second thought. Cassidy had always seen it as stupid, unnecessary, a sign of   
weakness. But lately… well, lately, things had changed. Butch was suddenly more   
special than he had ever seemed before, and she didn't know why… All she knew was   
that her feelings were shifting. Strangely, it didn't make her feel weak as she had always   
feared. Rather, it gave her a joy, filled her with a hope she hadn't felt in what seemed   
like forever.   
  
Sighing, Cassidy rolled over and fell back asleep, dreaming of her partner. She   
was dressed in a flowing green gown, and he was dressed in a shiny black tuxedo. They   
danced in beams of moonlight in her dream, high above the rest of the Pokemon world,   
with not a care or concern in the world to weigh them down, only living for the moment   
and the sheer joy of being with each other.   
  
Meanwhile, Butch was in his room, pacing in circles as he gritted his teeth and   
prepared himself for the night that lay ahead. Tomorrow was Sunday, the day when HQ   
laundry didn't open until noon. Butch knew that Cassidy would sleep in tomorrow…   
Lord knows she was exhausted enough, working all day with that broken arm.  
  
Butch, on the other hand, had something of the utmost importance to do the next   
morning… a mission with no partner. He had planned it all so carefully over the past   
two weeks, sneaking around HQ after hours using his security clearance to sneak into the   
computer center and access the stolen records, painstakingly searching for what he   
needed. He knew that Jenny's badge number, it had been burned into his mind indelibly   
when he saw the badge as she had led him to the police van that day.  
  
Oh, what he had found in the stolen Police records… He now knew that Jenny's   
service record, her past commendations, and, perhaps most valuable, her duty   
schedule. He knew the number of her bike, her beat, everything he needed.  
  
Butch smiled malevolently as he lit a one of his unfiltered cigarettes and walked   
to the mini-fridge in his room, a perk enjoyed by the Black Rockets. He pulled out the   
first can of high-caffeine soda he had bought yesterday and chugged it down. He'd need   
the energy to stay up through the night and do what he had to do the next morning. The   
hours began to run together as Butch spent the night chugging soda, smoking cigarette   
after cigarette, and popping the occasional caffeine pill.   
  
By the time morning came, Butch's heart was racing and he was wide-awake.   
Somewhat shakily, he opened his door and leaned against Cassidy's door. Inside he   
could hear the quiet snore she would never admit to. He smiled and walked quickly   
down the hall.  
  
Mondo sat behind his desk in the weapons storage room with an eager smile on   
his face. He had just opened the room for the day, and he was ready for the day's duty   
that lay ahead. He heard the footsteps approaching, and straightened up in his chair. He   
was surprised when Butch walked into the room.   
  
"Good morning, Butch. What can I do for ya?" he asked cheerfully.  
  
Butch scowled at him, somewhat irritable from his caffeine and nicotine rush,   
and snapped, "Who do you think I am, that blue-haired boob you worship? I am a Black   
Rocket, and you will call me sir!"  
  
Mondo looked at Butch, surprised by his outburst. "Sorry, sir. What can I do   
for you?"   
  
"I need a class J-R rifle." Butch replied, already having figured out what he   
would need and selecting his supplies by computer in advance.  
  
"I thought you were on modified duty, sir." Mondo replied.  
  
Butch glared at him. "I was, but the Boss needs me for a mission. Get the gun."  
  
Mondo shifted nervously in his chair. "Uhm, you really need a release signed by   
the Boss to get one of those…" he began.  
  
"It's coming down later!" Butch snapped, his hand shaking from the caffeine.   
"Now, the Boss wants me in the field, and a 14 year old pipsqueak like you is not gonna   
hold me up!" Butch slammed his hands down on the desk and leaned close to Mondo's   
face. "Get it?" he growled.  
  
Mondo trembled, scared by Butch's temper. "Ye- yes sir. Just sign here." He   
pushed the clipboard on his desk toward Butch and stood up to get the gun and bullets.   
Hastily, Butch scribbled James' name on the form, knowing he'd be in major trouble if   
Giovanni saw his name on the form while he was still on modified duty. Mondo returned   
a minute later with the gun and ammunition, and Butch grabbed them and stomped out   
of the room, heading to the motor pool to get a vehicle.   
  
Mondo sat back in his chair and sighed. Butch wasn't normally like this, as if the   
whole world rode on him obtaining that gun… Mondo shook it off and tried to relax as   
he filed the paper Butch had signed, never noticing that the signature line actually held   
the name of one of favorite seniors…  
  
20 minutes later, a black Jeep pulled out of HQ. Butch pushed the pedal down   
hard, pushing the Jeep to its top speed, as the J-R rifle bounced on the seat next to him.   
There had been a new White Rocket on duty in the motor pool, a 13-year-old girl named   
Anya. She had been even easier to intimidate than Mondo, a simple-minded twit who   
saw his Black uniform and questioned nothing. He had his Jeep within 10 minutes of   
walking in. Thank heavens for the Team's tendency to put these kids on that kind of   
duty… It made it all the easier to get just what he needed.  
  
The Jeep's engine purred like a cat as Butch drove on, drawing ever closer to that   
quiet stretch of road that ran parallel to a public park and was a central part of the beat of   
Officer Jenny Morgenstern (amazingly enough, each one managed to have her own last   
name despite the ridiculous relations).   
  
Butch pulled into the park and looked around. As he had expected, the park was   
pretty much deserted and quiet this Sunday morning. He parked the Jeep at the far corner   
of the small paved parking lot and climbed out. After a quick cautionary look around, he   
pulled the rifle out with him and walked across the large field to the big clump of bushes   
that separated the grassy hills of the park from the road. The rifle felt cool and solid in   
his hands – a perfect tool for the job. Butch crouched down in the soft bushes and   
checked the view behind him. Perfect. He was practically invisible from the park or the   
road, thanks to the thick bushes. Confident he was safely hidden, Butch placed the gun   
in his lap and looked it over.  
  
Butch had never held a J-R rifle before, but he had learned enough about it from   
the Team Rocket Weapons Database over the past couple weeks to feel like he had used   
it for years. Laser sighting, rapid firing, accuracy to 1000 yards, a telescopic sight with   
magnification, the J-R rifle was a tribute to Team Rocket's scientific ingenuity when it   
came to making already deadly weapons even more deadly. Of course, Butch's intent   
wasn't really murder – just payback. He had planned it all so carefully… selected this   
section of her beat, a quiet area he knew she'd patrol. When she came by, he'd fire low,   
blow out the tire on her bike, and make her wipe out. Break some bones, humiliate her,   
break that cloned bimbo the way she had broken Cassidy.  
  
The best part of the plan, of course, was that nobody but Butch knew about it.   
What a grand surprise it would be for Cassidy… perhaps it would even enable him to   
finally tell her the truth about how he felt.   
  
With that thought embedded in his mind, Butch loaded the rifle and sat down to   
wait for the appearance of Jenny Morgenstern's bike.  
  
As it turned out, Butch didn't have long to wait. After a mere seven minutes,   
Butch's ears perked up to the sound of a motorcycle engine in the distance. Squinting,   
he looked down the road and saw the approaching form of what was undeniably a cop   
bike. He smiled darkly and got ready for the moment of payback.  
  
Officer Jenny Estelle Morgenstern smiled and took a deep breath. It was beautiful   
spring morning, and nothing at all had gone wrong so far in the hour she had been on   
duty. She loved this part of her beat, a quiet, relaxing parkway that she could spend   
hours driving on. To her left, quiet homes and cottages were laid out, full of families of   
Trainers out on their journeys. To her right, the lush green grass and plants of   
Westwood Park. It was all so peaceful and relaxing. With nothing ahead but the empty   
parkway, Jenny Morgenstern closed her eyes and took in a full breath, smelling the   
sweet scent of the roses that dotted the bushes along the parkway.  
  
The next moment lasted forever.  
  
Butch hit the small switch for the laser sight. As promised in the records, the   
laser sight was bright and easy for him to see. It hit the road and moved with the gun.   
Butch looked through the telescopic sight and moved the small spot of red light quickly   
to the front tire of the approaching motorcycle. His face tightened and his finger wrapped   
around the trigger, pulling it all the way back.  
  
None of the records Butch had accessed had mentioned the powerful back-kick of   
the J-R rifle. Bullets sprayed out of the modified gun, throwing Butch slightly off   
balance but finding their mark - and more.  
  
Butch's eyes opened wide and his face broke into a gleeful smile as he watched   
the result of his actions. Butch watched with joy as the front tire on Morgenstern's bike   
blew out and deflated in seconds. The motorcycle pitched forward as Jenny's eyes flew   
open, her face filled with panic. Sparks flew as the rim of the front wheel scraped the   
pavement. Out of pure instinct, Jenny squeezed the brake and the body of the   
motorcycle flew forward, catapulting her off her seat with violent force. Jenny   
screamed as she flew over the handlebars of her bike and saw the asphalt rushing toward   
her. Then, nothing.  
  
Chuckling, Butch walked from the bushes to where Officer Jenny lay still in the   
road, the wreckage of her bike laying on its side behind her. He stood over her   
triumphantly, pointing the J-R rifle harmlessly in the air. "Remember me, Officer   
Morgenstern?" he cackled. "How does it feel to have your tires shot out, huh? Pretty   
humiliating, huh?" Butch glared spitefully at her. "Oh, too proud to answer?" he   
snarled. Still no response. Butch kicked her roughly. "Come on, you cloned pig! Answer   
me!" he yelled, angered by her stubborn, defiant silence.  
  
Then it hit him. No answer? No movement in response to his kick? Butch went   
pale as he knelt down for a closer look. Could she really be… dead? Butch had killed a   
few people in the line of duty in the past, but never like this… never where he could see   
it happen.  
  
A quick check confirmed it… Jenny Morgenstern was indeed dead. Her neck   
was twisted, and Butch correctly guessed that she had snapped it when she was flung   
from her bike. Butch looked around nervously, suddenly wishing he hadn't selected this   
area for the attack. Nobody was in sight, but- those houses- and the noise from the gun-   
somebody would know!  
  
Butch ran to his Jeep as he heard the sound of sirens in the distance. Running   
across the grassy field, Butch silently cursed the designers of the park for making the   
parking lot so damn far from the road. He was just reaching the Jeep when the first two   
cops arrived on motorcycle, stopping their bikes abruptly by their fallen sister, and   
spotted Butch holding his gun. "Stop right there!" one of them yelled, drawing her   
sidearm. "You're under arrest for the murder of an officer of the law!"  
  
What exactly happened there, Butch would never know. His mind told him to   
jump in the Jeep and take off, the distant voice of Agent Masterson told him to turn and   
fire, but all his body could do was drop the J-R rifle, turn around slowly, and stand there   
in humble silence.  
  
A Police van pulled up beside the two stopped motorcycles as the first two   
Jennies ordered Butch to lay down on the ground. From the back of the van., a Jenny   
and two Growlithe emerged. "Growlithe, retrieve that weapon and guard that criminal!"   
The Jenny commanded.  
  
The two dog-like Pokemon rushed over to Butch. One carried the J-R Rifle back   
to Jenny while the other guarded Butch, growling and snarling at him. With the J-R rifle   
safely in their possession, the first two Jennies moved to Butch, handcuffed his hands   
behind his back, and pulled him to his feet. "You must really think you're something,   
Team Rocket." The first Jenny sneered.  
  
"Killing our sister… You'll pay for that." The second one added as they led Butch   
away to the Police van. Butch's mind reeled back to the last time he and Cassidy had   
been caught. He climbed into the van and looked back at Morgenstern, whose body was   
now being covered with a white sheet by a Nurse Joy. Butch's eyes shot wide open and   
his mouth dropped. That wasn't Morgenstern laying dead in the street- it was Cassidy!  
  
Butch jumped out the back of the van, savagely knocking Jennies out the way as   
the ran to what he was sure was Cassidy's corpse.  
  
Knocking Nurse Joy over, Butch kicked the sheet aside and saw… Morgenstern?   
Butch was numb for a minute as he stood there trying to make sense of what he had seen,   
then he felt himself being pulled back to the van by the Jennies. "Just had to see her   
again, huh? You make me sick." One snapped.  
  
The Jennies threw Butch into the van with the two snarling Growlithe and   
slammed the door shut. One then climbed into the front seat and started the van, driving   
back to the Police station. The other two followed closely on their bikes, anxious to get   
this murderer in jail where he belonged, as still others helped Nurse Joy load   
Morgenstern's body into the ambulance.  
  
In the back of the van, Butch sat silently, watching the Growlithe nervously and at the   
same time hardly caring if they did attack him. It wasn't supposed to be this way… It   
was just supposed to be a simple little payback and humiliation, that was all… That's all   
it was ever supposed to be. Butch stared ahead, only wishing he could get that picture   
out of his head… that nightmarish image of Cassidy lying dead in the road.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	3. Hold On, Hold On

DISCLAIMER: The poem Butch writes to Cassidy in this chapter is a modified version   
of the lyrics to the song "I've Gotta Get a Message To You". The song was written and   
copyrighted by Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb. No permission has been given to use   
the lyrics. Please don't sue.  
  
Part Three: Hold On, Hold On  
  
Butch had dealt with the Pokemon world's system of justice and law before on   
many occasions, but he had never seen it move as swiftly as it was moving now.   
  
Trials and lawyers were unknown here, and Butch's guilt was confirmed by   
ballistics in less than 3 hours of his capture. The only delay in his sentencing was that the   
police Commissioner of Celadon City was on her yearly vacation in the Orange Islands,   
and would not return for two weeks.  
  
This made Butch feel much better, because he was sure he'd be bailed out soon.   
Once the Boss had done that, well… Team Rocket had ways of protecting its members.  
  
After all, how many Red Rockets had beaten murder raps? Team Rocket had   
always scoffed at the cops and their pitiful system of law, and Butch knew he'd soon be   
free.  
  
However, after three days, Butch began to worry. After five days, Butch was   
very worried. After a week had gone by with no word from Giovanni, Butch was   
nearing panic and he begged to be allowed to phone his Boss. Much to his surprise, his   
request was granted quickly, and before long Butch was on the phone with Giovanni.  
  
"What do you want, Butch?" Giovanni asked coldly.  
  
"Well, sir, I was wondering when I could expect my bail." Butch replied.  
  
Back in Viridian City, Giovanni's hand tightened around the receiver. "You   
can't." he snapped.  
  
Butch was stunned. "Why not, sir?'  
  
"I warned you and Cassidy that last time was the final time I'd bail you two losers   
out of jail. Besides, even if I hadn't said that, I still wouldn't bail you out!"  
  
"But- But, sir…" Butch stammered.  
  
"But nothing!" Giovanni roared. "You stole a J-R rifle, you tried to cover it up   
by submitting a false report- as if I don't know James' real signature from the thousands   
of accident reports he's turned in- and then you went a killed a cop in broad daylight!   
You're a fool, Butch. A damned fool. And there is no room on Team Rocket for fools   
like you."   
  
Butch held the phone shakily. "What are you saying, sir?"   
  
"I'm saying, so long, sucker." Giovanni replied.  
  
"But, sir-"   
  
"What?!" Giovanni thundered.   
  
"What about Cassidy?" Butch asked, dreading the answer.  
  
"What do you care?" Giovanni replied. He then decided that this conversation   
had gone on long enough. "Good bye, Butch."  
  
Before Butch could reply, the phone was slammed down and the line was broken.   
  
Butch looked at the ground and numbly hung up the phone and turned to walk   
back to his cell with the guard. He could hardly fathom it but the Team had let him   
down.   
  
The next day Butch was gloomily sitting in his cell when he was told by the guard   
that he had a visitor. Butch made his way with his escort to the visitor's room and sat   
down at a small cubical. Across from him was a piece of Plexiglas with an empty seat in   
the next room. After a few minutes Cassidy walked in and sat down in the chair, her face   
full of fear, pain, and disbelief.  
  
"Oh, Butch…" Cassidy sobbed through the small speaker system, barely able to   
face him. She looked as if she had been crying for some time and it pained Butch to look   
at her this way. It was all Butch could do to keep from crying himself. Finally Cassidy   
composed herself enough to look at him. "Why, Butch? Why did you do this?"  
  
Butch looked at his partner through the glass. How lost and scared she   
looked…like that little girl he had seen sobbing into the belly of her teddy bear. She   
wanted an answer now, and Butch was hardly sure he could give her one. For what felt   
like forever, he had dreamed of telling her, of watching her smile and laugh at the   
humiliation of that fool Jenny, that Butch knew there would be no smile today, no   
Cassidy of the past. None the less she needed to know now. Butch took a deep breath.   
"That cop was the same one that shot out our tires last time, Cassidy."   
  
Cassidy blinked at him, uncomprehending. "So?"  
  
"So?" Butch repeated. "So I've paid her back. Now you can be you again."   
  
"I don't understand." Cassidy replied.  
  
"Cassidy, when that van turned over what happened to you?"   
  
"I broke my arm."   
  
"No. More then that. It hurt you inside, Cassidy. It made you doubt yourself,   
your ability as an agent. You even thought you were as incompetent as that fool Jessie."  
  
Cassidy's face took on a shocked look. "But-But I was starting to feel better-"  
  
"I know." Butch interrupted. "You were so brave and so strong when we had to   
do that modified duty crap. But I knew you wouldn't be alright until the favor was   
returned to that Jenny."  
  
"So why did you kill her?" Cassidy asked, the fingers protruding from her cast   
tightening into a small fist.   
  
"I didn't mean to." Butch answered. "That was an accident. All I meant to do   
was blow out her tire, break some bones, something like that."  
  
"And now you're here." Cassidy stated.  
  
Butch sighed. "Well yeah. That's the bad thing."   
  
Cassidy glared at him angrily. "Dammit, Butch. What's the matter with you?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Do you know why I was feeling better, Butch? Do you?" Cassidy snapped.  
  
Butch looked at her blankly. "Wha- What?"  
  
"I was feeling better because- Because-" Cassidy looked down at her cast. She   
looked back up at Butch with tears in her eyes. "Because of you, Butch. It was all   
because of you."  
  
"What? How?" Butch replied, stunned.   
  
"You were there for me, Butch. You were my hope. You were what got me   
through days of washing Jessie's unmentionables!" Cassidy's voice began to crack as she   
continued. "And now you're stuck in here. You can't be there to help me now."   
  
"Cassidy, I only wanted to pay that Jenny back for what she did to you…I thought   
that might make you feel better…" Butch said desperately.  
  
"Butch, that Jenny didn't matter for crap! I know I'm better than her! What   
mattered to me was that my partner, my best friend, was by my side, was there when I   
needed him the most! It was a reassurance, Butch. An anchor. And I loved it." Cassidy   
stopped and looked at him. "And I loved you for it." She added softly.   
  
Butch's eyes opened. She what? "You- loved me?" He repeated.   
  
Cassidy looked up at him. "Yes, Butch. I did. I loved you for caring, for being   
there. But now-" Cassidy struggled to continue as she choked on her own emotion.   
"Now I don't know what to do."   
  
Butch put his hand on the glass. "I'm still here, Cassidy. I'm still here for you."   
  
Cassidy looked at Butch with the same look she had had in prison- The look of a   
lost, desperate child. "No, you're not, Butch. You're stuck here. You were my only   
support, and now you're gone!"   
  
Butch hardly knew what to say. All he could do was look helplessly at his love   
and say, "I'm sorry, Cassidy. I'm so sorry."   
  
Cassidy looked back at her partner. "So am I, Butch. So am I." She sniffled, and   
continued. "Do you know why it took me so long to get down here to see you?"   
  
"Why?" Butch asked softly.   
  
"Because I could hardly even look at your picture in my room without crying my   
eyes out." She said.   
  
Butch looked at Cassidy sadly. He wanted desperately to make her feel better.   
"I'll be out sooner or later, Cassidy. The Boss will see to that."   
  
Cassidy looked at him. "You're lying, Butch. Giovanni already told me he   
wasn't going to get you out." She said sadly.   
  
Butch looked at her regretfully. "I know. I just wanted to try to make you feel   
better…" he began.  
  
Cassidy looked at Butch with hurt and anger in her eyes. "Make me feel better?!   
First you get yourself thrown in jail and possibly face death to make me feel better. Next   
you try to lie to me so I can have my hopes destroyed if I choose to believe you. You   
certainly have a funny way of making me feel better, Butch Crandall." She said angrily.   
  
Butch looked at her with pleading eyes and opened his mouth to say something.   
"No." Cassidy said suddenly. "Don't say anything. If you try to make me feel better   
again, it just might kill me."  
  
Butch sat back in his chair, hurt and upset. His mind ran rampant with thoughts   
of what could have been between him and Cassidy had none of this taken place.   
Suddenly, Cassidy's voice brought his focus back to the cold reality that now faced him.   
"I loved you, Butch. I loved you so much. I just wish- I wish you hadn't done all this.   
All I wanted was to tell you. I wanted to ell you ever since we first got put on modified   
duty, but I was afraid. Afraid you- you didn't feel the same way." Cassidy looked at   
Butch again. "Butch, I need to know. Do you feel the same? Do you… love me?"  
  
Butch stared at her. His mouth went dry and his throat tightened. More than   
anything, Butch wanted to yell, to scream at Cassidy that he did feel the same way, that   
he did love her, that he loved her with all his heart… but the words couldn't force their   
way out. No matter how hard Butch tried, the words would not come.  
  
Cassidy lowered her head. "I see." She said softly. "God, I'm such a fool…"  
  
Butch's mouth moved, but no sound came out "Cassidy…" he finally said.  
  
Cassidy stopped him before he could say more. "No, Butch." She said, trying in   
vain to hold back her tears. "It's all right. I appreciate your loyalty to me… You must   
feel one hell of a partnership to me to do what you did… I just had the hope that it was   
more than a partner's camaraderie."  
  
Butch looked at his partner as his stomach churned. He hadn't been eating well   
this past week, as all the prison food tasted the same, like mushy glop. On top of that,   
he could hardly smoke, and now all this with Cassidy was tearing him apart inside. He   
only wished he could make her see…  
  
Cassidy sniffled and brushed a tear from her cheek. "Well, Butch, I guess there's   
nothing left to say but good bye." She said, desperately wishing she could be her old,   
detached, cold self again. "Thank you, Butch…. For everything you did for me ever.   
You've helped me through a lot, and I'll never forget you." The tears came heavily now   
as Cassidy's facade shattered. As the tears fell down her cheek and hit the red "R" on her   
chest, Butch silently raised his hand and put it to the glass, his eyes begging her to press   
her hand to his through the glass.   
  
Cassidy's mouth hung open as she sobbed. "I can't, Butch… I just can't… I'm   
so sorry… But I can't…" Cassidy stood to leave on shaky legs and backed away from   
the glass. "Please forgive me." She said quietly. With that, she ran out of the visitation   
room, trying hard to hide the fact that she was crying.  
  
Butch lowered his hand without a word. "Time to go back, Crandall." His escort   
said. Butch nodded and numbly stood to walk back to his cell.   
  
Butch spent the remainder of the week sitting in his cell thinking of Cassidy. She   
had left actually thinking that all he felt for her was a partnership bond, a mere   
friendship. How many times that week Butch had cursed himself for not being able to   
tell her the truth, he could not say. All he could do was think of how his dear Cassidy   
was convinced that her partner would die not loving her. It was a thought that haunted   
Butch day and night and kept him a wake more than any caffeine or nicotine rush he had   
ever experienced.  
  
After the longest three days of Butch's life, the Celadon City Police   
Commissioner returned from her vacation cruise through the Orange Islands.   
  
Shortly after her arrival, Commissioner Guenevere- A former Officer Jenny who   
was unusually tall and had bright red hair instead of the usual green, was briefed on the   
situation with Butch, his crime, and how the attending officers recommended the highest   
punishment available- death.  
  
The Commissioner walked down to the cell to talk with Butch personally, and   
found him sitting in his cell silently, his eyes red and puffy from the lack of sleep mixed   
with his own private crying.   
  
"Mr. Crandall?" The Commissioner said from outside the cell.  
  
"Yeah?" Butch replied in a monotone, not making eye contact with the   
Commissioner.   
  
"You have killed an Officer of the law. My second cousin, in fact."  
  
Big surprise, Butch thought to himself.  
  
"Right now, you face our worst penalty- death by execution. However, I am   
curious as to how you feel about your crime. Now, you claim that the murder was an   
accident?"  
  
"That's right." Butch said.  
  
"Was shooting at her an accident as well?" Guenevere asked, slightly amused by   
Butch's supposed plea.  
  
"No, it was not." Butch replied, again in monotone.  
  
"And why did you shoot at her?"  
  
"I had my reasons." Butch stated.  
  
"Was she chasing you?" Guenevere asked.  
  
"No."   
  
"Had she yelled at you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"So you were unprovoked?"  
  
"No." Butch said again.  
  
"Then why shoot at her?" Guenevere asked again, exasperated.   
  
"Let's just say…. It was for a friend." Butch replied, avoiding her gaze.  
  
The Commissioner sighed. "Very well, Mr. Crandall. From your responses, I   
think I can safely say that you not only fired those shots and killed Officer Morgenstern,   
but that you also have no regret for it. Am I correct?"   
  
"Mostly." Butch replied.  
  
"Where am I wrong?" Guenevere asked him.  
  
"The part about regret." Butch said.  
  
"So you do feel some regret, then?" Guenevere asked.  
  
"Some." Butch answered.  
  
"What about?"  
  
"The fact that I was caught and now I'm stuck here in this hell hole instead of   
being out there with my friend." He said simply.  
  
The Commissioner frowned. "I see." She said dully. "Well, Mr. Crandall, we'd   
all like to be with our friends. You, however, have made that impossible for some   
people- myself included. Since you freely admit your guilt and clearly have no regrets   
other than your current location, I have no choice but to declare you guilty and pass   
sentence on you." Guenevere motioned for the guard at the door to come closer and take   
note.   
  
Butch looked up nervously and stared at the Commissioner. "In accordance with   
Celadon City Law 795, Article 43a, I sentence you to death by execution. Sentence will   
be carried out-" she looked at her watch- "in 24 hours. That makes the time for the   
execution 2:30 P.M. tomorrow." The guard scribbled the information down on a   
clipboard and passed it to Guenevere. She quickly signed it and passed the clipboard   
back to the guard.   
  
"In accordance with the subsection clause of that law, you will be granted one   
last request to be carried out within the next 24 hours in the confines of your cell. When   
you know what you want that last request to be, let a guard know and it will be done if it   
is feasible. Do you have anything to say?"  
  
Butch glared at her silently and shook his head.  
  
"Very well." Guenevere said. "Sentence has been passed and will be carried out.   
Good-bye, Mr. Crandall." With that, she turned to leave and walked out of the holding   
area, leaving Butch alone to consider his fate.  
  
The door to the holding area closed with a thud. The cells around Butch were   
empty, and all this time locked away was making him realize just what loneliness truly   
was.  
  
Butch walked to the back wall of his cell and looked out the small barred window.   
Outside, the sun was shining and sky was a bright blue. A tear formed in Butch's eye.   
That world outside was full of life, full of love, full of happiness, and his world was full   
of death, emptiness, and regret. He was alone. He had taken a life, he was going to die,   
and worst of all, Cassidy didn't know the truth about how he felt. Suddenly, Butch had   
no fear of any afterlife… he was already in hell.  
  
Butch spent hours that day and night sitting in his cell thinking. Thinking of   
Cassidy, of his impending execution, of what his last request should be. He couldn't   
leave his cell, so he knew it couldn't be to visit or call Cassidy. Besides, Butch knew   
that he would only freeze up again if he did get the chance to talk to her again. God,   
how Butch wanted to tell her the truth… Tell her… everything. If only he had a way to   
do it… a way he wouldn't choke.  
  
Butch sat there for a few minutes before it hit him. The Commissioner had said   
HE couldn't leave his cell, but she had never said anything about not being able to send   
something out of the cell.  
  
Therein was the opportunity. Butch knew what he had to do if he was to tell   
Cassidy how he felt. Butch stood and looked at the clock on the wall across from his cell.   
It was 9:00 P.M. He could hardly believe it had only been six and a half hours since he   
had been sentenced. It felt like it had been days. Butch walked to the door of his cell and   
pressed the button to call the guard.   
  
The door to the hall way opened and the guard walked in. There had been a shift   
change since his earlier guard, and his guard was now an officer who was a rarity… a   
Jenny-brother, a male cop. The cop walked to the cell door. "What is it, Crandall?" he   
growled.  
  
"I want a pad of paper and a pen." Butch said in a complacent tone of voice.  
  
"What for? Gonna try to write a jailhouse repentance?" The cop laughed.  
  
Butch glared at him. "The Commissioner has granted me a last wish. I want to   
write a letter and have it mailed as my last wish." He said flatly.  
  
"Whatever." The cop muttered. He walked to a desk by the door and grabbed a   
pen and a legal pad. He then slipped them through the cell door to Butch. "Lights out in   
30 minutes, Crandall." The cop said as he turned to leave.  
  
"Whatever." Butch said mockingly, mimicking the guard.  
  
The guard stopped and spun around to face Butch. "Listen, you slime sucking   
cop killer, if I had my way, I'd beat you to death right now with my bare hands. You   
just be thankful that Commissioner Guenevere believes in quick executions- even when   
the prisoner deserves much worse!" The guard turned back to the door and stomped out,   
closing the door with a loud slam.   
  
Butch shot a murderous look toward the door. God, he hated cops. Taking a   
deep breath, Butch calmed himself and walked to his cot with the pad and paper.  
  
The cot creaked as Butch sat down and took a deep breath. He put his pen to the   
paper. "Cassidy…" he wrote. No. Butch scratched it out. "Dear Cassidy…" No.   
Again, Butch scratched the pen over his writing, obliterating what he had written.   
  
"My Dearest Cassidy…" No! Butch let out a growl and threw the pad of paper   
across the cell. He grabbed his head and sighed. Why was this so damned hard? Before   
he knew it, the guard stuck his head in the door again.  
  
"Lights out, Crandall. Sweet dreams of tomorrow." The guard chuckled   
viciously as he hit the master switch that plunged the cells into darkness.  
  
Butch sat there in the dark, staring straight ahead and never feeling more alone.   
Butch couldn't say exactly how long he sat there before he finally fell asleep, his dreams   
full of images of Cassidy sobbing in pain and desperation as he watched, immobilized   
and horribly unable to help or comfort her.  
  
Butch woke early the next morning when the sun's first light shone through his   
barred window. Butch looked around the cell wearily, almost forgetting the fact that he   
was to die that day. He looked at the pad of paper, lying on the floor where he had   
thrown it the previous night. Remembering his need to write the letter, he walked to the   
pad and picked it up. He then walked back to his cot and sat down, pen in hand and   
ready to write the letter.  
  
At 7:30, the hallway door creaked open and a Jenny walked in with a tray   
holding a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of water. "Breakfast." She said simply as she slid   
the tray through the opening in the bottom of the door into Butch's cell.   
  
Butch looked up.. "Huh?" he said, dazed. The Jenny left without a word. Butch   
looked at the pad of paper and realized it was still blank. He had managed to spend   
almost 90 minutes just staring at the pad and writing nothing. Butch sighed heavily and   
wiped a tear from the corner of his eye as he picked up the tray and began to eat slowly.   
HE had been eating the same crap since he had arrived- this gray sludgy garbage that   
was mealy and tasteless. Butch had grown to hate the so-called oatmeal, but he had to   
do something to try to get rid of this block, this stone in his path that was keeping him   
from telling his love the truth.  
  
When Butch had finished the small meal, he sat back on his cot with the pen and   
paper beside him and tried to think. Cassidy was so beautiful, so fragile, and so special   
to him… Just the thought of her, her long blonde hair, her smile, the scent of her   
favorite perfume (Gloom's Dream Number Nine), even that quiet snore he'd heard many   
times before… they could all conjure a tornado of emotion in him, a whirlwind of   
feelings for her.   
  
God, how Butch missed her! And yet… and yet he still remained as he had   
trained himself to be for so long… devastatingly silent.   
  
Butch was suddenly aware of the presence of two people. He turned his head and   
saw Commissioner Guenevere and a man in a black suit by her side. Funny, he thought,   
I never even heard the door.  
  
"Well, Mr. Crandall, you know your execution is approaching. Have you   
decided on your last request yet?" She asked.  
  
Butch's eyes darted to the empty pad beside him. "Er- I'm working on it." He   
said quickly.  
  
"Very well." Guenevere said. "But bear in mind that he who hesitates misses   
out. Your sentence will be carried put at 2:30 sharp today, regardless of whether or not   
you have had your last request. Understand?"  
  
Butch angrily grunted in reply. Guenevere rolled her eyes and continued. "I'll   
take that as a yes." Now, Butch, this is our prison chaplain, Mike Gerber. He's here to   
talk to you." Guenevere opened the cell door and let the chaplain in, and then closed the   
door and left..   
  
Gerber looked at Butch and smiled. "Hello, Butch." He said in a kind voice.  
  
Butch looked at him with his usual hard stare. "Hey." He said curtly.  
  
"May I sit down?" Gerber asked.  
  
Butch shrugged. "I guess."  
  
Gerber smiled and sat down next to Butch. "Thank you." He said. "How are you   
feeling?"  
  
Butch glared at him. "I'm gonna die in a few hours. How should I feel?" he   
snapped.  
  
"I'm sorry, Butch." Gerber said. "All I really wanted to know was if you wanted   
to talk about anything in particular."  
  
"What, like religion?" Butch asked, unsure how to feel about the chaplain. He   
had no intention of discussing religion with him, and yet Butch felt like he should hold a   
kind of respect for Gerber nonetheless.  
  
"Well, whatever." Gerber said cordially.  
  
"Look, thanks but no thanks, OK? I'm not religious and I don't really wanna talk   
to someone like you." Butch replied coldly.  
  
Gerber nodded. "I understand. But if there is anything you want to say- anything   
at all- I'm here to listen."  
  
Butch's face clouded. "Well…." He said as he considered the situation. Butch   
had never felt a need for religion, for spirituality, for someone like Gerber to talk to, but   
this was different from anything he had ever experienced before. He had faced jail   
before, sure. He had even come close to death before, but he had never done it alone,   
never without Cassidy there to help him.  
  
Now, death was staring him in the face, mere hours away, and he was stuck,   
alone, hurt, and angry. "Actually…" Butch hesitated. "There is something I'd like to   
talk about, but I dunno if you'd wanna hear it."  
  
Gerber smiled. "Why wouldn't I?" he asked.  
  
"It's not gonna be a repentance, a confession, or whatever it is you chaplains like   
to do."  
  
Gerber's face clouded slightly, but his kind smile never faded. "Oh, that's all   
right." He replied.  
  
Butch looked at him, surprised. Every religious type he had ever encountered   
before had been a condemning, fire-and-brimstone kind of person, and he had expected   
nothing less from Gerber. "Really?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, yes." Gerber replied. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd be very happy with   
one, but you know, it wouldn't be right to spend this time forcing you into something   
you truly don't want."  
  
Butch looked at Gerber thoughtfully. "OK." He said after a minute. "I have a   
problem. Some unfinished business."  
  
"Go on." Gerber said."  
  
Butch sighed. "I can't really go into details, but the reason I'm here- I mean, the   
reason I… killed that cop… was because of the way I felt about a friend."  
  
Gerber looked at Butch. "I'm not sure I understand." He said.  
  
"Well, it's a long story, but my friend had been hurt by that cop." Butch replied.  
  
"Physically hurt?"  
  
"And mentally." Butch said. "Given the way I feel about my friend, I couldn't   
just let that go."  
  
Gerber smiled. "I suspect this friend is more than just a friend. Am I correct?"  
  
Butch didn't know what to say. "Uhm, well, I'd like her to be… but she doesn't   
know it."  
  
"Have you told your friend?"  
  
Butch lowered his head. "I've tried." He said quietly.  
  
"But…?" Gerber asked.  
  
"But I can't do it. I don't know why. I mean- I've felt this way about her forever,   
and I've never been able to tell her."  
  
Gerber sighed and nodded. "Perhaps you're afraid she doesn't feel that same   
way?"  
  
Butch felt the tears forming in the corners of his eyes, but he didn't care. "But   
she does." He said. "She visited me here last week and she told me she does." Butch   
paused for a moment to brush a tear from his cheek. "And I was dying to tell her how I   
felt. I was burning to tell her. And I tried. I tried so hard and nothing would come! Not   
a damned word telling her about it! Not a single freakin' word!" The tears streamed   
down Butch's face now. Well, let 'em come, Butch thought. Why should I care if   
anyone sees it anyway? I'll be dead soon enough.  
  
Gerber swallowed hard and put his hand on Butch's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Butch."   
He said softly.   
  
Butch looked at Gerber again. The old chaplain was like nobody he had ever met.   
He was actually a person who didn't look at the red "R" on his chest and have his mind   
set on a judgement right away. Butch tried to pull himself together and wipe away his   
tears. "Anyway, I just know one thing about it all."  
  
What's that?" Gerber asked.   
  
"I can't die with her thinking I don't care, thinking I don't love her." Butch   
replied. "I mean, I'm not trying to hold onto any delusions here- I know I'm gonna die.   
But when they kill me today, all I want dead is my body. If I die with her thinking I   
don't love her, my heart and soul are gonna die just a surely as my body's gonna die."  
  
"I understand." Gerber said.  
  
"Anyway, I want my last request to be that a letter from me be mailed to her,   
with a message telling her just how I feel. But I can't get it down on paper, no matter   
how hard I try."  
  
Gerber took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, Butch, I have to tell you   
that I've been in this situation before."  
  
"You have?"  
  
"Or really close to it." Gerber continued. "And you know what I've learned from   
watching it so many times?"  
  
What's that?" Butch asked.  
  
"That if you try to force it, try to make it a perfect message, even if you try to   
vent years of emotion like that, it just won't work. All you'll do is hurt yourself and   
probably never get your message through."  
  
Butch looked to the chaplain for guidance. "So how can it be done?" he asked.  
  
Gerber smiled. "Sit down and pour your thoughts out on paper. Let it go and   
just come from you."  
  
For the first time in weeks, Butch smiled. He looked at Gerber, filled with   
gratitude. "Thank you." He said quietly.  
  
"You're welcome, Butch." Gerber said. "would you like to be alone to write your   
letter?"  
  
Butch nodded silently.  
  
"Very well, then." Gerber said. "May you finish your task and rest in peace,   
Butch Crandall." With that, Gerber rose, shook Butch's hand, and pressed the call   
button for the guard to let him out.   
  
A Jenny came to the cell, opened the door, and within a minute, both she and   
Gerber were gone.  
  
Butch looked at the closed hall door and realized that he was feeling something he   
hadn't felt since Morgenstern had blown out their tires… peace. When Butch had first   
met Gerber, he had expected nothing but an uphill battle trying to get Gerber to leave   
him alone, but it had turned out that meeting the chaplain had actually been the best   
thing to happen to him since he had been teamed with Cassidy.   
  
Once again, Butch picked up the pen and pad. He took a deep breath and closed   
his eyes, and placed his pen to the paper.  
  
"My Dearest Cassidy, I can only apologize for not sending you this message   
sooner, but I never knew how to tell you what I have to say." He wrote.  
  
Butch sighed and continued writing. "I received some help and guidance in   
prison, and I'm not quite sure what is going to finally be in this letter, but rest assured,   
my love, whatever follows comes from my soul and my heart."  
  
Butch paused for a moment and took another deep breath. Hardly realizing he   
was doing it, Butch began to write a poem that flowed from his heart:   
  
"The preacher came to me and he smiled, said sit and talk with me, rest and talk   
for a while.   
Now, for once in your life, you're alone, and with one last wish, there's no time   
for the phone.  
  
But I just gotta get a message to you,  
So hold on, Cassidy, hold on.  
Just a few more hours and my life will be through,  
So hold on, Cassidy, hold on.  
  
I told him I'm in no hurry, but I if broke her heart, I gotta let her know that I'm   
sorry.  
And for once in my life I'm alone, but I have to let her know just in time before I   
go.   
  
I just gotta get this message to you,  
So hold on, Cassidy, hold on.  
Just a few more hours and my life will be through,  
So hold on, Cassidy, hold on.  
  
You know I can laugh at death and it won't hurt,   
but did you know it's your love that keeps me wearing this dirt?  
Now I'm crying, but deep down inside, I know I did it to that Jenny,  
And now it's my turn to die.  
  
But I must get this message to you,  
So hold on, Cassidy, hold on.  
Just a few more hours and my life will be through,  
So hold on, Cassidy, hold on."  
  
Butch's arm lowered, and he stared at the pad, amazed he had written these   
words. He had never written poetry before, and he knew these words were special, that   
they had poured from deep within him, that they were finally giving vent to the feelings   
that he had kept hidden from his partner for so long.  
  
"My most beautiful partner, I am so sorry I waited so long to be able to tell you   
this. I know I can't be with you to watch you read these words and know your response-"   
Butch's eyes began to tear again. Sniffling, he shakily finished the letter… "But know   
that I always have and always will love you, even in death and whatever comes after this   
world. You have made my life worth living, Cassidy, and to you I am forever grateful.   
All my love, Butch.."  
  
The ink ran in a few spots as Butch's tears fell and hit the letter. Quietly, he tore   
the sheet from the pad and folded it up. Clutching the note tightly in hand, Butch walked   
to the call button by the cell door and pressed it.  
  
The door to the hallway opened, and a young Jenny who looked ver new to the   
force walked in. She eyed Butch cautiously, as if afraid of him. Obviously, she had not   
yet perfected that hard Jenny stare Butch had seen on so many cops before. "Yes?" she   
asked, her attempt at a hard tone barely masking her youth and inexperience.  
  
"I need to see Commissioner Guenevere." Butch said.  
  
"Regarding what?" The Jenny asked.  
  
"Regarding my last request." Butch snapped.  
  
"All- all right." The Jenny replied. She pulled her radio from her belt and   
pressed the button to talk. "Cell Guard 2 to Com 1."  
  
The radio crackled back. "Com 1. Go."  
  
The Jenny eyed Butch nervously as he held her in his gaze. "Com 1, I have a   
prisoner who needs to see you, please."  
  
"Name?" Guenevere said over the radio.  
  
"It's Butch Crandall, about his last wish." The Jenny replied.  
  
There was moment of silence. "I'll be right down." Guenevere answered.  
  
The Jenny glanced at Butch and quickly responded to her superior. "I copy, Com   
1. Thank you." She looked at Butch again. "She'll be down in a minute." She said   
cheerfully, happy that her task was done.  
  
"I can hear, you know." Butch growled.   
  
The Jenny stammered slightly, her face flushing a bright red. "Well, er, right."   
She replied. With that, she turned toward the door to leave.  
  
":Hey, Jenny!" Butch called. The cop turned back to face Butch again.  
  
"Have a good time walking me to the chair later." Butch said venomously.  
  
Jenny looked as if she was going to say something, the changed her mind and   
simply turned to leave again. Butch allowed himself a smile as he thought of how easily   
he had intimidated her, but he quickly wiped it from his face when he heard the door   
opening again as Guenevere walked in.  
  
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Crandall?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah. I've got my last request." Butch said curtly. "Ah, good. What is it that   
you want?"  
  
Butch pushed his letter through the bars. "I want this message delivered to   
Cassidy Parker, care of the Viridian City Gym." Guenevere started to unfold the letter,   
and Butch quickly added, "and it is to be read only by her. Absolutely no one else."   
Guenevere looked up and refolded the letter.   
  
"Very well." She replied. "To be delivered to Cassidy Parker, care of the   
Viridian City Gym?"  
  
Butch nodded, and Guenevere jotted the information down on an official-looking   
form she had on her clipboard. "This is your last request, then?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah." Butch answered.  
  
Guenevere passed her pen to Butch. "Initial here and it will be done." She said,   
lifting the clipboard to the bars. Butch initialed and signed the form and passed the pen   
back to Guenevere. "I must say I'm surprised, Mr. Crandall. Not many people would   
use their last request to simply mail a letter. This person, this-" Guenevere looked at her   
form- "Cassidy Parker must be very special. Am I right?"  
  
Butch glared at her with a hard expression. "And what the hell is it to you, Jen?"   
he snapped.   
  
For the first time since they had met, Guenevere was unable to keep her reaction   
in check. She glared back at Butch. "The name is Guenevere, Crandall. Get it right."   
She growled.  
  
Butch smirked at her, not intimidated in the least. Guenevere composed herself   
back to her typical reserved nature. She glanced at her watch. "It's 12:45, Mr. Crandall.   
You have one hour and forty-five minutes until your execution. Would you like to see   
Chaplain Gerber again?"  
  
Butch considered this for a second, but decided that Gerber had already done all   
the good he could do. "No." Butch replied. "I don't wanna talk to that religious freak.   
All I want is to be alone." He said in a nasty tone of voice.  
  
"Suit yourself." Guenevere replied, her frustration with Butch showing slightly.   
She turned to leave, and the hall door slammed shut with an echo that resonated through   
the detention area.  
  
Butch's hard expression faded as a tear came to his eye. He could see Cassidy in   
his mind's eye, reading the letter and learning the truth… and yet still being so alone.   
Maybe everything would have been better off if he had never penned the letter at all.  
  
Butch looked around him. Death was almost welcome now, an escape from the   
depressing little slice of hell he had been stuck in for weeks. He felt sick to his   
stomach… sick of the situation, sick of his cramped cell, sick of the thought of his dear   
Cassidy being all alone. Idly, he wondered to himself if she had a new partner yet, but   
the image of Cassidy being teamed with someone else made Butch feel even worse. The   
tears came ever so steadily now as Butch collapsed to the floor and leaned against the cell   
wall.  
  
Slowly, the blurry images and traces of light Butch could see through his tears   
faded and gave way to darkness as exhaustion overtook Butch and he fell asleep.  
  
A field of flowers. Butch looked around, confused. How did he get her?   
Slowly, Butch smiled. He was free! The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the   
beautiful blue sky. In the distance, he heard something. A woman humming. Butch   
kept quiet and listened until he heard the sounds again. Upon hearing it, Butch   
recognized it in a second. It was the old Team Rocket anthem, "Rocket Dan Yo Ein   
Nei". He walked in the direction of the familiar tune, then started running when he   
realized that the woman humming was none other than Cassidy.  
  
There she stood at the edge of the field, he back to him as she stared at the   
ground. Overjoyed, Butch ran to Cassidy as her humming filled his ears. When he was   
within one foot of her, however, he stopped. Something, some invisible force was   
keeping him from reaching her. Frustrated, Butch looked down at the ground and saw   
what Cassidy was staring at: a flat rectangular stone with carving in it. The carving was   
hazy and Butch squinted to read the inscription: "Here lies Butch L. Crandall, executed   
by the Celadon City Police for the crime of murder" Butch's face went as white as a   
sheet as Cassidy finished humming the anthem and said in a sad voice, "I'm coming,   
Butch. I'm coming, darling." Her back still to Butch, Cassidy pulled a silver handgun   
from the bag she had on her shoulder and placed the barrel to the side of her head.  
  
Butch jumped up, suddenly able to move, and grabbed Cassidy as he screamed,   
"No!" Cassidy limply turned around, and Butch saw before him Jenny Morgenstern, her   
face cut and bleeding, her neck twisted horribly, and her arms bleeding from scratches   
and scrapes. Butch stared at her, shocked and repulsed. The sky turned blood red and   
nasty looking clouds materialized as Morgenstern grabbed Butch's throat and choked   
him, crushing his windpipe…  
  
"NO!" Butch screamed loudly as he bolted upright from where he he'd been   
laying on the floor. He panted loudly as he looked around, realizing he was still in his   
cell. Three minutes later, the hallway door opened and Guenevere walked in with four   
cops, two Jennies and two Jenny-Brothers.  
  
They approached the cell slowly but deliberately, and Butch looked up   
apprehensively. "It's time, Mr. Crandall." Guenevere said.  
  
Butch's eyes went wide as the first Jenny lifted her key to the lock in Butch's door   
and turned it. Overcome with fear, Butch frantically scrambled to the back wall of his   
cell. Guenevere sighed and nodded to the other three guards, who moved to Butch. One   
took hold of his right arm while another took hold of his left arm. The third guard   
walked behind him, and the three cops lead him to Guenevere. The Commissioner   
looked at Butch with a face devoid of emotion.  
  
Butch looked back at her with a heart heavy with remorse and fear, but knew he   
couldn't allow himself to show his emotion, his weakness. Somewhere in his mind, he   
could still hear the stubborn, angry voice of Agent Masterson… "I see fear, Crandall!   
Fear is emotion! Emotion is weakness! Weakness is the road to defeat! DO YOU   
WANT DEFEAT, CRANDALL?!" That voice, that sound from the past, forced him   
into the mode he had trained himself to be in since he had joined Team Rocket… a   
stony, silent mode.  
  
Butch knew there was no escape, but he held his defiant, angry stare as   
Guenevere opened the hallway door and led the circle of guards, the two on either side of   
Butch still clutching his arms tightly. Butch swallowed hard as they led him down the   
hall past the other holding areas to the steel door at the end of the hall. Big red letters on   
the door stated clearly: DANGER: AUTHORIZED PERSONS ONLY.  
  
The group stopped at the door, and Butch felt the grip on his arms tighten. He   
looked at the Jenny and the Jenny-Brothers surrounding him, and saw no traces of any   
kind of emotion.  
  
They were like robots, really, mere robots carrying a piece of trash to the   
dumpster. In front of him, Guenevere selected the correct key and wordlessly opened   
the steel plated door. She led the group in, and closed the door as the guard behind   
Butch stepped in, closing the tight circle around the Black Rocket.  
  
Bright florescent tubes bathed the room in a harsh light. Butch looked around at   
the cement walls and floor, and at the large dull gray colored control panel on one wall.   
His eyes then followed the heavy-duty cables from the control panel across the floor to a   
large red and yellow striped square painted on the floor. The square was surrounded by   
the words "KEEP CLEAR". At the center of the square, the electric chair sat silently, an   
imposing structure made of metal and wood.  
  
The four guards led Butch to the chair and sat him down. The two guards who had   
been in front of him and behind him secured his legs in the restraints as the two who had   
held his arms secured them in their restraints. Butch's hard expression never faded, but   
if the guards had looked and listened closely, they would have seen the traces of tears in   
Butch's eye and the barely audible whimper that escaped through his clenched teeth.   
  
Once Butch's arms and legs were secured, three of the guards stepped back   
silently as the fourth one pulled a metal cap down onto Butch's head and secured it with a   
leather strap under his chin. Butch recognized this guard somehow as the same Jenny-  
Brother who had gotten the pen and paper for him the night before. Though the Jenny-  
Brother didn't say a word, Butch could tell he loved this job, preparing this Rocket   
slime for death. Determined not to give the Jenny-Brother the satisfaction of seeing his   
fear, Butch tried desperately to keep up a hard front that would've made Agent   
Masterson proud, all while he sobbed and begged for his life inside.  
  
The Jenny-Brother glared at Butch, obviously eager to watch him fry, and   
stepped back to join his fellow cops.  
  
Guenevere stepped forward. "Butch Crandall, you have been found guilty of the   
murder of Celadon City Police Officer Jennifer Estelle Morgenstern. In accordance   
with the articles of Celadon City law, you have been sentenced to die by electrocution.   
Your last request has been granted, and your letter has been sent to Cassidy Parker in   
care of the Viridian City Gym. Have you anything to say before sentence is carried out?"  
  
Butch glared at his nemesis with eyes full of hate as he cried like a baby inside.   
"Hell, no." he growled defiantly.  
  
Guenevere's lips tightened into a scowl for a second, then relaxed. "Very well.   
Rest in peace, Mr. Crandall." She said simply. She turned away and walked to the   
control panel. Her master control key was inserted and turned, and a shiver ran through   
Butch as the generators behind him hummed with building power.  
  
Butch chewed his lip as sweat drops formed on his forehead. The guards who had   
escorted him in now stood facing him outside the danger zone as witnesses, their mouths   
silent but their eyes screaming for justice. Their faces were like stone as they stood there,   
ready to watch him die.  
  
A shrill buzzer sounded as the generators reached full power. Out of the corner of   
his eye, Butch saw Guenevere's hand reach for the red master switch. Guenevere   
gripped the handle and pulled it down swiftly as she closed her eyes tightly.  
  
Butch felt it in a millisecond. Terrible, jolting, burning, blinding pain as the   
immeasurable volts of raw electricity surged through every part of his being. Butch   
screamed savagely as his body was wracked with pain. His flesh burned and blistered in   
seconds as he felt his body die. He had wondered what it would be like, but he had   
never dreamed that the last few seconds of his life would last this long.   
  
Now, another shrill ringing bell sounded from nowhere. Somehow, Butch   
registered the pain through the blinding pain, and realized that the ringing was not from   
the machine, the control panel, or the chair…so where WAS the ringing coming from?   
Butch's mind searched for the answer. Bells, bells, bells…bells of heaven? Hell? A   
death toll? No, those bells couldn't sound like this…somehow, Butch's hand broke free   
of the restraint of the armrest of the electric chair and reached to the source of the ringing.   
God, at least let me die in peace, he thought to himself as the damn ringing finally   
stopped. Butch returned his hand to the restraint and sighed.   
  
It took Butch a few seconds to realize there was no pain now. Slowly, he opened   
his eyes, half expecting to be floating above his own corpse in the chair. But there was   
no electric chair. No Officer Jennies. No Commissioner Guenevere. All there was, was   
quiet ticking. Blinking, Butch sat up and looked around.   
  
He was in his quarters in Viridian City. There was his bed, there was the mini-  
fridge, there was the six-pack of high caffeine cola…with five cans's unopened. The   
first can sat there opened on the desk with only a sip or two missing.  
  
"What the hell…?" Butch said to himself as he looked at his ticking alarm clock.   
It was 8:00 in the morning. The sun was shining through the crack in his blinds, and   
before him on the desk sat the paper he had been writing notes on for two weeks: "J-R   
Rifle, Jenny Morgenstern, Westwood Park 9:30 am (Sunday)…"  
  
Butch's mouth fell open as he slapped his forehead. "I'll be damned…" He   
muttered to himself. "It was all…just…one…big…stupid…nightmare!" A thought   
popped into his head. Butch stood up and grabbed his keys from the desk. He walked to   
the door and opened it. Staring across the hall, he saw the brass nameplate on the   
opposite door: "Agent 556-BLACK ROCKET CASSIDY PARKER."   
  
From the other end of the hall, Butch saw Mondo walking toward him briskly,   
hurrying to his duty in the weapons room.   
  
"Good morning, Butch." Mondo said cheerfully.   
  
Butch glared at him, growling something at the young Rocket as he hurried on his   
way. Once Mondo was out of site, Butch slipped over to Cassidy's door and used his   
copy of her key (They had agreed as partners to have each others keys long ago) to open   
her door. Butch entered the room silently and closed the door without a sound.  
  
Cassidy was just as he had left her the previous night, covered with her blanked   
and snoring quietly. Butch smiled, and removed his boots. He climbed into the bed and   
lay down beside her, placing one arm around her. Still asleep, Cassidy smiled and   
shifted slightly, positioning her body against his.   
  
Butch lay there, wide awake and waiting for her to wake up. When she did,   
Butch knew what he would do…He finally had the strength to do it. He would tell her   
everything. He would tell her, hold her, and kiss her.   
  
Butch looked out the window and saw a white bird on the tree branch outside. He   
smiled as he looked at it, and realized there was no longer any need in his mind for   
payback, for revenge, for anything but the chance to finally tell Cassidy the truth.   
  
The bird flew away and Butch lay there fully at peace for the first time in years.   
He smiled, closed his eyes, and listened as the quiet sound of Cassidy's breathing filled   
his ears.   
  
THE END  



End file.
